Finnish referee Mohammad Al-Emara hopes that already in the junior leagues players are taught how to treat referees.
The events of Monday night’s match between Ankaragucu and Rizespor in the Turkish football league have shocked the sports world.
At the end of the match, the chairman of Ankaragucu, who was enraged by the opponent’s 1-1 equalizing goal Faruk Koca the referee punched Halil Umut Meleri. Meler fell to the surface of the field from the force of the blow, after which he received yet another blow.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has strongly condemned Koca’s violence. Due to the incident, the country’s ball leagues are suspended until next week.
Finn Mohammad Al-Emara has served as a referee for a little over ten years. In recent years, he has noticed a clear negative change towards the judges.
– We have noticed a clear change in attitude in how referees are spoken to and how they behave towards them on the field. Bad behavior is on the rise globally.
Al-Emara says the entire global football community has a place to look in the mirror. He hopes for changes in, among other things, punishments and how future generations are brought up to respect referees.
– There has to be a change in that starting from the junior leagues. The adults’ example sticks to the players from there. Otherwise, we will see more cases like this in the future. They sensed that it is acceptable to talk about the referee in this way, Al-Emara says about the nasty cycle.
“I’m not interested in receiving death threats”
Al-Emara also sees social media as a clear reason why aggressive behavior towards judges has increased.
– All hate speech incites radical actions. The world has changed and football has changed, Al-Emara states.
He tells harsh examples of the hate speech judges have encountered.
– The kind of hate speech referees face online is quite shocking. It wouldn’t even occur to me to create an Instagram account. I’m not interested in getting death threats after every match.
Al-Emara adds that fortunately there have been few such cases in his case. However, Al-Emara, born in 1992, has seen a clear change in Finland for a long time as well.
For example, he takes his own junior career as a player.
– No one ever came to say that you shouldn’t talk to the referee like that, even though I treated the referees really badly at times. I wish someone would have held an interview. It starts from there, how we are raised, says Al-Emara.
Others also have their responsibilities
Halil Umur Meler is one of Turkey’s most up-and-coming refereeing talents.
– Above all, I wish him the best. He is one of Turkey’s most famous judges, but even he is not safe from this kind of behavior. Not to mention what the umpires in the lower leagues have to go through. All of us judges condemn such behavior.
A criminal investigation is underway. Al-Emara says that there must be a noticeable ban within football.
– We are talking about years, not months.
However, Al-Emara sees that the attitude of the judges has changed for the better.
– We have been told to deal with inappropriate behavior more strictly. A visible protest becomes a quicker warning. A lot of rules have been tightened in the refereeing community.
– I hope that the line will be drawn as strictly outside the field as well. Warning examples must be given of excesses directed at judges. Such acts do not belong in football, and it must also be shown through penalties.